In a rare case of arriving very, very close to its last season, DAN DA DAN (Dandadan) has returned for season 2 eight months after season 1 aired.
Available on Hulu now, the series has aired its first subbed and dubbed episode, Like, This is the Legend of the Giant Snake, with more to come weekly (season 1 is available on Crunchyroll and Netflix, season 2 will be on a delay). It also released the first three episodes as a movie. DAN DA DAN season 2 has also put up a stellar Rotten Tomatoes score, a perfect one, so far, as it adapts the Evil Eye arc.
As it stands, with a limited amount of reviews in, DAN DA DAN has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics. If you think that may change when more reviews come in, with double the number for season 1, it still had a perfect 100% then, along with a 93% audience score.
The show, not surprisingly, is adapted from a manga series, which is written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu. Here’s the synopsis:
“Momo Ayase is a high school girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens, while her fellow high schooler, Ken Takakura, whom Momo nicknames “Okarun”, believes in aliens but not ghosts. In a bet to determine who is correct, the two decide to separately visit locations associated with both the extraterrestrial and the occult—Momo visiting the former, and Okarun the latter. Momo is abducted by a group of aliens who accidentally unblock her chakras, enabling latent psychic abilities. Meanwhile, Okarun is possessed by a spirit who takes over his body. By using Momo’s abilities and Okarun’s possessed form, they defeat the aliens together.”
There are 20 volumes so far, meaning a lot of source material to go should the show continue. There are many manga-to-anime adaptations that don’t work, but so far, DAN DA DAN does not seem to be one of them. Here’s what critics are saying about the season:
- Io9: “The latest proof that Dan Da Dan is anime’s ultimate genre chameleon, effortlessly shifting tones and styles in an instant.”
- Bloody Disgusting: “It’s just so much fun to spend time with these characters, watch them gain ground, and become more powerful in this beautifully unique universe.”
As of yet, DAN DA DAN has not charted on Hulu’s Top 15 list, but we’ll see if that changes as more episodes roll out, and some viewers may not realize that this is airing so close to season 1, as with many animes, a long delay is usually the norm. But no word on when exactly season 3 is going to make it out.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
